Possible to Use Aegis Ashore to Hit Guam-Bound Missile: Suga

September 18, 2018

Tokyo- Japan would be legally able to use the planned Aegis Ashore missile defense system to intercept a North Korean ballistic missile flying toward the U.S. territory of Guam, a government official said Tuesday.

Japan's national security legislation allows the country to exercise its right to collective defense under some conditions if its existence is threatened by an armed attack on a country close to Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference.

This will not change after the planned introduction of the Aegis Ashore system, Suga also said.

Previously, the government made a similar statement justifying the use of its Standard Missile-3 interceptor systems mounted on Aegis destroyers to intercept a Guam-bound ballistic missile from North Korea. Jiji Press